The Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY

The Language Philosophy of The Maine Educational Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Governor Baxter School for the Deaf (MECDHH/GBSD) values a fully accessible, language-rich environment for all of our students by honoring American Sign Language and English equally. MECDHH/GBSD is committed to best practices for addressing each student’s language, communication, literacy and social/emotional domains.

Our students become successful learners by building a strong language foundation. We acknowledge that our students come from a variety of communication, language, cultural, and educational backgrounds. It is our commitment to meet the needs of each student based on individual assessments and social histories.

MECDHH/GBSD strives to be a community that values and nurtures the wealth of cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity of society. Our organization is committed to respect for all members of the multicultural community to ensure daily interactions free from communication and language barriers.

Guided by our Language Philosophy, The Maine Educational Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing/Governor Baxter School for the Deaf is committed to provide students the opportunity to develop to their full academic, cultural and social potential in a safe, comfortable and language rich environment.

Additional Resources:

GBSD students with more extensive needs utilize a variety of communication modalities called Augmentative and Alternative Communication augmentation (AAC). These communication systems may include the use of picture symbols or adaptive switches. These students are provided with support and instruction related to each unique communication system.

We invite you to follow the links above for specific information about each of our academic programs.